The tenant of a south London townhouse destroyed by an explosion in 2014 said in court Monday she received a panicked call from the man on trial for arson and drug offences.

Maureen Vilbar said she had moved to Guelph for the summer, but had left keys with Reuben Garcia, a friend and distant cousin.

“He told me he f—-d up. My house was on fire. His friend was burned,” said Vilbar, who had lived in the rent-geared-to-income townhouse on Southdale Road since 2012.

Garcia, 29, has pleaded not guilty to three arson-related charges and four drug charges related to the explosion and fire that was blamed on the production of marijuana resin.

An excavator tears down a town house at 1217 Southdale Road East that exploded in 2014. DEREK RUTTAN/ The London Free Press

Garcia’s lawyer Aaron Prevost told the court his client does not dispute details of the explosion, which were read out in an agreed statement of fact, but said Garcia was not involved in the drug production.

In August 2014, the townhouse 1217 Southdale Rd. E. blew up and caught fire, forcing families from five neighbouring units from their homes.

No one was injured, but the entire block had to be demolished because of the damage.

Vilbar, who has two children, said she lost all of her personal possessions in the fire and had no insurance.

Vilbar told the court Garcia called her a couple of times that summer to warn her the hydro service had been cut off for unpaid bills and he also had cut the lawn in her absence.

She said on the afternoon of Aug. 15, 2014, the day of the explosion, she got a call from Garcia who said he had cleared her fridge of food that had gone rotten.

Firefighters on scene of an explosion in a townhouse at 1217 Southdale West, August 2014. (DEREK RUTTAN, The London Free Press)

Vilbar said the panicked call about the explosion came the same day around 8 p.m. She and Garcia agreed to meet at a parking lot in Kitchener later that night. At that meeting Vilbar said Garcia told her he was “cooking some stuff,” which she understood to be an illegal substance, when the explosion happened.

“I wanted to choke him. I was so mad,” she said.

She said Garcia offered her money to keep quiet and advised her to get a lawyer.

In agreed statement of facts Court hears details of the drug production which caused explosion but Reuben Garcia disputes he was involved

Under cross-examination Prevost challenged Vilmar’s testimony saying statements she made to police and in the preliminary hearing indicated the call about the rotten food in the fridge had not come on the day of the explosion, but weeks earlier.

Vilmar admitted to so some confusion about dates because of the length of the time since the incident, but stuck to her story.

Prevost suggested to her that Garcia only called to tell her that police had visited his home to question him about the explosion and she was the one who insisted on a meeting because she was panicked.

“I’m going to suggest you feared you were going to get in trouble because you let somebody use your home and you didn’t know what they were doing,” said Prevost.

Prevost also said the offer of money at the meeting only related to his client helping to pay for a lawyer that he had recommended to Vilmar.

Earlier in the day, London forensics officer Dan McCoy reviewed dozens of photos of items in the burned-out townhouse, including marijuana, cocaine and equipment such as butane canisters used to produce marijuana resin.

McCoy told the court he photographed at the scene several documents of identification bearing Garcia’s name.

But under cross-examination, he said Garcia’s fingerprints were not found on the drug equipment.

Fingerprints from a co-accused, Moustafa Eldogdog, were found on the equipment.

Eldogdog, 27, faced similar charges in the incident. In January Crown prosecutors dropped arson charges against Eldogdog and he pleaded guilty to one count of possessing marijuana and marijuana resin for trafficking.

Police found almost eight kilograms of dried marijuana and a large quantity of wax — also called marijuana butter — in the home.

In the remains of the living room, police found 73 cans of butane and a butane extraction device.

Eldogdog was sentenced to 10 months in jail, time he had already served, and 10 months’ probation.

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